COVID-19 Coronavirus – Support to Business | ONE

This emergency can only be addressed successfully through a national response led by Government and its agencies, including the NHS. The scale and complexity of the response mean that it is evolving daily, including the advice on staying healthy and the support available to businesses.

At Opportunity North East (ONE), our immediate priority has been to follow official advice, take the steps necessary to ensure the health and wellbeing of our people, and ensure that we continue to work with the key sectors and businesses to progress projects in development and delivery. The duration and impact of this crisis are unknown just now. What we do know is that projects to catalyse long-term economic growth will be even more important when the recovery begins.

Businesses across the region are dealing with unprecedented challenges and we are connecting them with sources of support. Those looking for help and advice can access the most up to date information and resources via the dedicated COVID-19/Coronavirus sections of the following websites, including information and advice on the national measures to support businesses.

UK Government – https://www.gov.uk/

Scottish Government – https://www.gov.scot/

Scottish Enterprise – https://findbusinesssupport.gov.scot/

Business organisations are also supporting their members and the sectors they work in with information and advice, and collating issues raised by businesses and sharing these with Government. These include:

British Chambers of Commerce – https://www.britishchambers.org.uk/

Scotland Food & Drink – https://scotlandfoodanddrink.org/

Scottish Tourism Alliance – https://scottishtourismalliance.co.uk/

ONE’s Response

ONE is closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation and following the latest official advice and guidance. Our priorities are the health and safety of our people, partners and stakeholders and we continue to engage with businesses across the region. Please continue to work with your usual contacts within ONE.

Protecting our people

• We are encouraging our people to use digital conferencing solutions to engage with partners, stakeholders and each other.
• We have introduced a new protocol for working and in-person meetings to support social distancing at our Queens Gardens office.
• We recognise that partners, contractors and stakeholders are implementing COVID-19 response procedures and respect these.
• All ONE external events and sector networking activities have been cancelled or postponed.
• We are ready to follow any new official guidance to protect the health and safety of our people.
• We’ve stopped all non-essential business travel.

Ensuring business continuity

• Our approach to work is dynamic and flexible, our IT systems support remote working and our people regularly work from multiple locations.
• We have policies in place for remote working to ensure confidentiality and data protection.
• We are in regular contact with our project partners and contractors to maintain programme delivery and adapt when necessary.

Being prepared

• Our COVID-19 Business Continuity Team meets daily to consider our response to the latest official guidance.
• Our senior management team is meeting regularly to consider and plan for the potential impacts on our people and operational activities.
• We are reviewing our projects to identify and mitigate potential risks while maintaining momentum during this period.

ONE Tech Hub

• We are currently open and the building remains fully operational for our tenants.
• RGU Innovation and Entrepreneurship is closing its operations at the ONE Tech Hub from Friday 20 March in line with the University’s policy for all its sites.
• All ONE Tech Hub and ONE CodeBase events have been postponed or cancelled until further notice. We will keep this approach under review.
• Monthly hot-desking is open with fixed desks allocated and additional measures in place to support social distancing. Daily hot-desking is cancelled until further notice.
• Within the building, we have increased frequency and scope of daytime cleaning and sanitization of high touch points and provided hand sanitisers.